


The Time That Steve Shrank

by Mrgoodbar



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Artistic Steve, Bucky is good with kids, First Kiss, First Love, I Don't Even Know, I don't even think that I'm tagging right, Kid Fic, M/M, POV Third Person, Sam is good with kids, Steve hates bananas, Teenage Steve Rogers, toddler Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2018-09-18 19:48:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9400508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrgoodbar/pseuds/Mrgoodbar
Summary: The time that Steve was turned into a 5 year old.or, the time the Avengers had to deal with nap time, story time, a stubborn 5-year-old, a crushing teenager and first loves.





	1. Steve Turns Five

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [pull apart the dark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2346056) by [togina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/togina/pseuds/togina). 



> Hello, Everyone!! This is my first fic! :D I would love constructive criticism as long as it's nice! Thank you for reading and I hope you like it!
> 
> Also, If there are any Captain America fanfic writers in search of a beta, go check out [Cap Beta Finders](https://capbetafinders.tumblr.com) You can find the perfect beta for you. Also, I beta as well.

He stalked into the dimly lit office and approached the desk. The figure in the chair paid him no attention, so the Doctor cleared his throat. 

“Um, Sir? All preliminary simulations indicate that we’ll need a large dose for this to reverse the serum. The gas must be released within a 4-foot radii. How do you propose we get it to him?” 

There was a long pause. The silence of the underground base was almost deafening. The Boss spoke then. 

“Are you one hundred percent certain that the tonic will reverse the serum?” 

“Well-” 

“It’s a yes or no question, Doctor; Will the tonic work?” Boss interrupted uncaringly. 

“Nothing is one hundred percent, but the lab is pretty positive it will work.” 

“Good work Doctor.” 

\---

Well. This was certainly new. What had even happened? Who did this? Why did this happen? What were they going to do? This wasn’t something any of them, and they were pretty sure anyone, had ever had to deal with before. 

How were they going to fix this?  
\---

24 hours earlier-

It was a rainy day in January. This was pretty odd, considering usually January in New York was cold enough to turn rain to freezing rain. But, it wasn’t, so that day, the Avengers stayed inside safe from the rain. The snow was melting and the day had been beautiful. Well, until a psycho villain (again) had decided that today was the absolute perfect day to rid the world of the Avengers(like they hadn't already faced the villain with the "extinction of the avengers" thing stuck to his ego) by attacking New York City. 

You'd think that time and time again of defeating villain after villain, these guys would want to attack somewhere else, right? Or maybe not attack at all? Well, obviously, Not. 

Steve, Bucky, and Sam had been on Steve(and now Bucky's) floor in Stark Tower, which Tony had re-named the Avengers Tower. Steve had pointed out that is was a really stupid idea for obvious reasons. 

“Tony, you just made this tower a giant target to villains who want to take over the world. What about Hydra, huh? If we’re living here they know how to get to us. Plus it’s right in the middle of New York. If someone were to attack the tower think about the casualties!” 

“God Dammit! Calm down, Capsicle. You and your robocop boyfriend are perfectly safe here. Jarvis is in the tower. He monitors everything” 

“He’s not my boyfriend Tony, and it’s still not safe.” 

Tony scoffed and said: “Yeah. Whatever.” Before he turned on his heel and strolled out of the room toward the elevator. 

Sam had suggested that they watch a movie so they asked Jarvis to shade the windows after they had agreed on what movie to watch. 

"You'll love it, Steve. The Hunger Games is very popular right now, and anyway, wasn't this on your list in that dwarfed sized notebook you carry around?" Sam joked as the movie trailers came on the screen. 

Steve, who had slouched down on the couch, sat up. "Yeah, yeah. It was. Might as well get started, ya know? Haven’t had time to catch up on things on the list.” Steve paused. “Hey Bucky, Do you know that there are hundreds of Disney movies now?" Steve asked looking over to Bucky who sat the far away from the couch. He sat in the armchair that had a perfect view of both the surrounding windows and the elevator. Bucky looked uncomfortable in the way he was sitting; He sat with his back straight and his feet placed firmly on the ground, almost like he'd be ready if he needed to make a quick move from his place on the chair. “Can you believe that! Do you remember seeing Snow White in the theater? Or Pinocchio? Fantasia?” Steve turned and started to address Sam now. “Bucky loved Fantasia. Snow White was my favorite.” 

“Didn’t Bambi come out around that time too?” Sam asked. 

“Yeah, it did but we didn’t have enough money to see it. Bambi came out after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, so we didn’t see it. I was too busy trying to get into the army. Ain’t that right, Buck?” Steve had turned toward Bucky again, but he seemed to be completely oblivious that they were talking to him now. Even though both Sam and Steve knew that Bucky was actually listening that didn’t say anything more. 

They all watched as words showed up on the screen talking about 12 districts and a public ceremony called the reaping. When the words disappeared, and two men showed up, Steve glanced again at Bucky almost as a reminder to himself that Bucky was actually here, that he was actually alive. 

A few minutes into the movie, Steve stole a glance at Bucky. He was glowering at the television like it had personally offended him. Steve could almost guess that Bucky maybe didn’t like the movie. Steve watched as Bucky’s tongue poked out of his mouth and ran along his lips. His lips were so red, and Steve wondered what it would be like to- 

Sam’s elbow connected with Steve's ribs. “Steve, man, watch. It’s important.” Sam grumbled when he realized that Steve wasn’t watching the movie. 

20 minutes into the movie, the rain had stopped and Steve saw that Bucky was relaxing more into the chair. Steve looked at Bucky’s hair, how it was tied up into a small bun at the back of his head. He wanted to go over there, pull Bucky’s hair from his elastic and run his hands through the luscious hair. Steve started when a smooth voice interrupted the movie. Bucky quickly stood up straight. 

"Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes, Staff Sergeant Wilson," Jarvis interrupted. "There seems to be an attack on Times Square. The villain is terrorizing civilians and has what appear to be giant robotic wolves." 

Steve sighed and stood up swiftly. "Alright, Let's suit up." When he turned back toward the armchair where Bucky was supposed to be, Steve found the chair empty and watched his best friend walk down the hallway with quick, calculated steps. 

\---- 

When all the Avengers, including Bucky but no Hulk or Thor, got to Times Square, they watched as a man with dark hair terrorized civilians with his robotic wolves. He wore a dark blue outfit that looked like it was painted on, a red mask and most cliche, a cape that was bright red. He had a weird looking, almost futuristic nerf gun on steroids in his right hand. There was a small vial that held dark purple liquid coming from the back of the gun. 

This was the moment that the guy realized they were there. He turned toward them. 

“Oh, The Avengers. ‘The Earth’s Mightiest Hero!’ ” He quoted in a mocking voice. “What a pleasant surprise. And by pleasant, I mean, absolutely wonderful. You are all in time to watch me destroy you.” With that said, the villain laughed in the most cliche way. “Meet... The Executor.” 

Steve who stood in a defensive position stood up and glanced toward his fellow Avengers with a look of annoyance. Steve say he wasn’t the only one with that look on his face. He leaned toward Sam who stood on his right and whispered in his ear. “Goodness, this guy must be nuts. He sure sounds it. He’s probably the most cliche villain we have ever faced.” 

“How come we’ve never heard of you, Cliche?” Tony asked. 

The Executor ignored him and kept on speaking about how unfair the Avengers were and how he was sent to fix this. Steve halfway through was really bored. He looked at the rest of the Avengers and noticed matching faces of boredom and they all looked ready for a fight. Apparently so was Stark because at that moment he chose to shoot a repulsor blast of the Executor. He fell and landed on his back with a grunt of pain. 

After noticing that their leader was down for the moment, the robot wolves stopped attacking civilians and started toward them. The Avengers spread out and prepared to fight. 

The robot wolves charged at Steve. He fought them one at a time and he and all the other were too busy trying to subdue the wolves that no one noticed that the Executor had gotten his footing back and was advancing toward Steve protected by wolves flanked by his sides. 

The Executor was about five feet from Steve when Sam, from above, yelled, “Steve. Look out!” Sam was too far way to get to Steve in time. 

Steve punched the last wolf he was fighting and whipped around just in time to watch as the Executor pushed the trigger on the gun thing. The liquid that was in the gun, upon having the trigger pushed, turned to gas and shot out of the muzzle of the gun. Steve breathed in the gas and started to choke. He collapsed on his knees. 

The first thing Steve felt was numb. Then when he tried to take a deep breath, he realized that he couldn’t. When he opened his eye, which he hadn’t realized he closed, he watched through blurred eyes as the Executor was shot and saw Bucky running toward him. He tried to breathe again. He realized that he hadn’t not been able to breathe since before the serum. He brought his hands to his neck and tried to breathe again. He couldn’t. 

The last thing Steve felt before it all went dark, was legs beneath his back. 

The last thing he saw before it all went dark, was Bucky’s worry drawn face above his. 

\---

Bucky ran toward Steve. The terror he felt consumed him as he shot the Executor and caught Steve before he fell face first to the ground. He pulled Steve to his lap. Bucky watched in horror as Steve’s body convulsed in his arms. He gaped as Steve seemed to be getting smaller. His body kept shrinking and shrinking until Bucky held within his arms, 5-year-old Steven Grant Rogers.


	2. Five Again

> _ What Happened to the Captain?  _
> 
>  
> 
> _ Millions Shocked as World watched the Collapse of Captain America! _
> 
>  
> 
> _ Captain America Dead?  _
> 
>  

_ \--- _

 

> _ Christine Everhart, Times Square; 4:51 pm EST _   
>    
> 
> 
> _ At 1:56 pm eastern standard time, a villain attacked Time Square. He unleashed robotic wolves on the citizens of New York City. The Avengers arrived shortly thereafter. The battle lasted for about a half hour. But, at exactly 2:21 pm, camera crews stationed at Times Square caught the collapse of Captain America. The villain, having somehow been able to sneak up on the Captain managed to point a gun at his head. The Captain had just turned when the villain pulled the trigger. We watched as the ex- soviet assassin, Captain America’s old wartime buddy, caught Captain America before he could reach the ground. He was turned away from the camera crews, so no one could see what condition the Captain was in. Almost three hours after the fall of the captain, we have yet to hear from the residents of Avengers Tower. Could this mean that the good Captain is severely injured or possibly even dead?  _

 

\---

Why were people giving him all of this shit? Tony was tired of it. Really, though, who wouldn’t? He was trying to save Time Square. Why would he be paying attention to see if there were any television crews around? It wasn’t his fault that a psycho attacked New York City. It wasn’t his fault that Cap got hit with some weird potion stuff that turned him into a five-year-old. It wasn’t his fault that the world watched as it happened. What was he supposed to do; Just tell the entire World that Captain America was turned into his five-year-old self? 

 

Apparently, that was exactly what they were going to do. 

 

\---

 

Bucky looked at Steve. 

 

Steve was tiny. And by tiny, he meant tiny. The kid probably didn’t even weigh thirty-five pounds soaking wet. 

 

He looked so small in his arms. 

 

When the others had offered a bed to let Steve rest on for the trip back to the tower, he adamantly refused. He continued to hold Steve. He couldn’t, physically couldn’t put Steve down. 

 

He cradled Steve to his chest and listened to the unsteady breaths. 

 

It was just… Steve was vulnerable again. 

 

\---

 

When they got back to the tower, Bucky immediately headed toward the elevator so he could go to their floor. 

 

Steve needs rest. He needs to lie down. Bucky thought. 

 

The Avengers piled onto the elevator. Before anyone could press anything, he hit his and Steve’s floor button.

 

“Bucky-” He turned his head to see the other Avengers look at him expectantly. “Where are you going?” 

 

“Our floor.” Was Bucky’s clipped response. 

 

“Well, we’re going to the infirmary to get Steve checked out. Make sure he isn’t going to, I don’t know,  _ die _ on us.”

 

Bucky full on growled when Tony said ‘die’. 

 

“Jarvis? To the infirmary.” 

 

“Yes, Sir. Right away, sir.” 

 

\---

After the visit to the infirmary, Bruce diagnosed Steve will all his old ailments. 

 

“Steve he has lots of illnesses. Asthma, heart troubles, easily fatigued, high blood pressure-” 

 

“We get it Guyliner. He had a lot of problems.” 

 

“Tony! Be nice!”

 

Bucky finally was allowed to bring Steve back to their apartment. It was getting late and he wanted to make Steve something to eat. What could he feed him? Bucky thought. Certainly not a PB&J sandwich, Stevie’s allergic… He likes oatmeal though. 

 

While at the infirmary visit, Steve had woken up, but only for a few minutes. He seemed disoriented as he looked around at the faces staring at him until he finally fell back asleep. 

 

Steve hadn’t woken up again since then though. Once Bucky got to their floor, he took Steve to his room and laid him done under the blankets. Steve curled up, undisturbed at being carried around. 

 

Bucky watched Stevie for a few moments before turning toward the door and making his way to the kitchen. 

 

His Steve wasn’t allergic to anything, so Steve ate almost anything. But Steve before the serum was allergic to everything. 

 

After throwing out many ideas on what to make Stevie, Bucky resettled with making him some oatmeal with a glass of water. 

 

He brought the meal back to Stevie’s room where he found Stevie still sleeping peacefully. He set the oatmeal and water on the table next to Stevie’s bed. He didn’t want to wake Steve now, so Bucky laid down next to Steve on the bed. He curled close to Stevie, close enough that he could hear Stevie’s arrhythmic breathing.  

 

\--- 

 

At some point, Bucky must have fallen asleep because he wakes with a start. He looks right into beautiful ocean blue eyes that are so achingly familiar. Stevie is laying on his side looking straight into Bucky’s eyes. 

 

“Bucky?” Little Steve asks. 

 

“Stevie,” Bucky replies. 

 

“Where are we?” Bucky smiles at this. 

 

“The future, kid.” 

 

“Really?” Steve asks excitedly. Excitement shines bright in his eyes. 

 

“Of course. Why would I lie to you?” He smiles. “Are you hungry, Stevie?” He receives a nod. “Well there’s oatmeal on the table but I think I fell asleep so we might have to re-cook it.” 

 

Steve looks over to the table where the oatmeal and water sits. He gets up and sticks his finger in the center and looks back to Bucky. 

 

“Uh huh. It’s freezing!” 

 

They head to the kitchen with the oatmeal and Bucky puts it in the microwave. Not too long, he doesn’t want to oatmeal to be too hot. It finishes cooking and he watches as Steve eats it all. 

 

“Hey, Stevie?” Stevie looks up. “I wanna bring you to meet some people.” It was around eight o’clock so he was pretty sure that everyone was still awake. 

 

“Jarvis? Where are the others?” 

 

“Miss Romanoff, Mr. Barton, and Mr. Wilson are in the common room playing Mario Cart. Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are in the labs. Thor is still on Asgard.”

 

“Can you tell Stark and Banner to meet us in the common room?” 

 

A moment of silence. 

 

“They have been notified, sir.” 

 

He looked back to Stevie who was looking scared. He sits staring at the ceiling. 

 

“Where did that come from?” He asked almost in a whisper. 

 

“That was Jarvis and he’s a robot that lives in the walls.” Bucky whispers back. 

 

\--- 

 

The elevator dings and they stepped out into the common room and Bucky could see that everyone was on the couches. They all looked up when they stepped in. 

 

Stevie, upon seeing the number of people in the room, ducked behind Bucky’s legs. He peaked his head around Bucky’s legs. 

 

“Come on Stevie. They’re nice. I promise that you’ll love them.” Stevie looked up at Bucky and nodded. 

 

They stepped further into the room. Everyone was silent and looking at them. 

 

Natasha was the first to get up. She stalked over to Bucky and knelt down to Stevie’s height. 

 

“Why, hello there. My name is Natasha. What’s yours?” She says gently. 

 

Stevie looked up to Bucky then stepped out from behind his legs. He stuck his hand out. 

 

“My name is Steven Grant Rogers. Bucky calls me Stevie, though. It is nice to meet you.” He says sheepishly looking down at his feet. 

 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Stevie.” After their introductions, everyone else is to surprised by the softness that Natasha displayed that they don’t realize that Stevie, Bucky and Natasha are looking at them. Everyone goes up one at a time and introduces themselves. The more the introductions are made, the less Stevie looks nervous. 

 

Everyone there on starts calling him Stevie, it just fits and no one is in the least bit surprised to learn what good manners Stevie has. 

 

\---

 

A few minutes later, they decide to watch Bambi. When they reach the scene where Bambi’s mother is killed Stevie starts crying softly.

 

They pause the movie and when told that it’s okay it’s only a movie, Stevie beggings crying harder until he reaches full on sobs. 

 

“M- m- momma’s g-gone too!” He buries his face into Bucky’s neck and cries even harder. Everyone around the room looks on with faces full of pure agony. Nobody likes watching little kids cry. Then Stevie starts making gagging noises. Confused, Bucky asks Stevie if he’s alright. When Stevie shakes his head no, and starts feeling around Bucky realizes what’s happening. Stevie is having an asthma attack. Bucky gropes around in his pocket for a few seconds, until he pulls out an inhaler. Stevie blindly reaches for it and puts it in his mouth. 

 

When he’s breathing properly again, Stevie is once again crying softly. 

 

“Momma’s gone, too.” He says breathlessly. 

 

“Yeah Stevie, she is.” 

 

Bucky puts his arms around Stevie, rocks him gently and within a few moments, Stevie is out like a light.  

 

_ \---  _

 

_ Meanwhile…  _

  
  


> _ Official Statement on Condition of Captain America:  _
> 
>  
> 
> _ Steven Grant Rogers, aka Captain America, while he was attacked he is not seriously injured or dead. Captain Rogers has been affected. He has been deaged and is about five-years old. We do not know who did this or why they targeted Captain Rogers specifically, but we will figure it out. We ask you to please respect Captain Rogers’ privacy, thank you. No other comments.  _
> 
>  

_ \--- _

 

“Sir, all tests showed that the tonic would work. If we can get the kid, we can test him and-” 

 

“ENOUGH! You said that it would work. It clearly did not work. I asked for a serum- free Steve Rogers. What I didn’t ask for was a child.” He paused for a moment. “I have no further use for you.” And he pulled out a gun and aimed between the Doctor’s eyes and- 

 

BANG! 

 


	3. Five Continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm so sorry. I just remembered that I haven't update in like two months! Super busy lately and I totally forgot. 
> 
> Okay, well here's Chapter 3! I hope you like it. Constructive Criticism always welcome!

Bucky is woken to someone touching his hair. He opens one eye.

 

Stevie is sitting crisscross applesauce in front of Bucky’s face toying with his hair. Stevie has a look of determination on his face. His eyebrows are scrunched together and the tip of his tongue is sticking out of his mouth. 

 

“Natasha showed me how to braid, Bucky. She said that if I practice I can make braids look as pretty as she does. I’m practicing on your hair.” He pulls some hair in front of Bucky’s eyes. Bucky will definitely have to spend time later getting these knots out of his hair. “Look how good I’m doing!” 

 

“Wow, Stevie! You did these all by yourself?  _ No Way!  _ These are too good. Natasha’s don’t even look this good!” 

 

“I did them all by myself.” He chuckled. 

 

“You're pretty talented. You're gonna grow up to be an amazing person someday.” 

 

Stevie becomes shy now. 

 

It’s been almost one month since Steve was turned into his five-year-old self. Steve, Bucky, and occasionally Sam or Natasha, spend the days watching Disney movies, playing hide-and-go-seek,  or drawing/painting. 

 

Today, though, Bucky promised Stevie that he’d take him to the park. 

 

Once Bucky manages to get Stevie dress in clothes bought soon after he was turned, they head to the elevator. 

 

On the way down, Stevie asks if Sam can go with them. Even if Stevie is five, he still seems to remember being really close to Sam as he wants him to do everything with them. 

 

Bucky sighs. It’s not that him and Sam don’t get along or anything, they just… don’t particularly see eye to eye. It’s been like that since he tore of his wings and threw him off the helicarrier. Bucky apologized and everything but Sam can’t seem to let bygones be bygones. But, with Stevie around, they have a mutual agreement to not argue with him. 

 

When the elevators stop at Sam’s floor they step off. Stevie is jumping with excitement. 

 

“Sam!” Stevie yells. 

 

“Kitchen!” They get back. Stevie runs off toward the kitchen leaving Bucky alone by the elevator thinking about why he agreed to ask Sam to come. 

 

He starts toward the kitchen and gets there in time to see Sam on the ground talking to Stevie intently. 

 

“So will you? Please?”

 

“How could I say no?” 

 

After spending the day in the park, having an asthma attack, and watching the Disney princess movie  _ Brave,  _ Steve is exhausted. While serving dinner, Stevie almost falls asleep. It was a good day, Steve sleeps soundly through the whole night. Bucky doesn’t. 

 

\---

 

Bucky is awake at four thirty when his phone starts ringing. Knowing that it can only be one thing, he answers. 

 

“Barnes.” He says gruffly. 

 

“Sergeant. We need you on a mission ‘since the Captain’s indisposed. Suit up, be ready in thirty.”

 

The call ends and he groans. This mission sounds urgent. Who knows how long it’ll be… 

 

He groans again and calls Sam. 

 

\--- 

 

When Sam arrived it’s just after four forty five. 

 

“Thanks, Sam,” Bucky says almost petulantly. 

 

“No problem Bucky,” Sam said voice still gruff from sleep. “I don’t mind helping Stevie out.” 

 

“Ya, I know. You’re just about as perfect as Steve.” Bucky sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “I’m just gonna go say goodbye. Don’t know how long this mission is. Sounded urgent.” He paused. “Make yourself at home I guess.” He concluded awkwardly and turned down the corridor toward Stevies room. 

 

As quietly as possible, Bucky opened the door and glanced inside. The light from the hallway illuminated the bed, and Bucky could see Stevies small figure lying in the large king sized bed. Widening the door so he could step into the room, Bucky approached the bed. Sitting on the edge, he gently placed his hand on Steve's shoulder. 

 

“Stevie,” he whispered. “Stevie, wake up.” 

 

Stevie opened his eyes and looked at Bucky tiredly. 

 

“Bucky,” Stevie says quietly. 

 

“I’ve just come to say goodbye.” 

 

Stevie instantly sits up. He lip begins to wobble. He looks like he’s about to burst into tears. 

 

“Why? You’re leaving?” He sobs. 

 

“Only for a little bit, Stevie. I’ll be back soon. I promise.” Even with the reassurance, Stevie starts to cry and clings to Bucky’s shoulders. 

 

“Noo…” He cried softly. “I don’t want you to leave!” 

 

“I’ll be back, Stevie and while I’m gone, Sam will be here. You won’t be alone.” 

 

Stevie cried for a few more minutes sobbing and telling Bucky not to go. It takes 8 minutes before Stevie completely stops crying. He lets go and lies back down on bed.  

 

“Okay,” he says in a hoarse voice. 

 

“Okay.” Bucky leans forward and kisses Stevie's head. “I’ll be back before you know it.” 

 

“Okay,” Stevie repeats again. “Bye, Bucky.” He rubs his eyes and yawns. “Love you.” He mumbles before falling asleep. 

  
Bucky steps out into the hallway with a small on his lips.


	4. Hide and Seek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, So I thought it wouldn't be 'til like next week before I updated, but I just thought of this well watching a movie and thought it'd be cute to add. So, here it is! 
> 
> Constructive Criticism always welcome!

Once Bucky is gone, Sam collapses on the sofa, ready to fall back asleep. He knows that being called in the middle of the night isn’t the best. And Bucky was right; Who knew how long you’d be gone for. 

 

Sam thinks about having to watch Steve for a while. It’s not that he doesn’t have experience with kids, no, he does. His sister has two kids whom he loves dearly. It’s just… this is different. His nephews are a lot younger, only one and two years old. It’s a lot easier to entertain a two-year-old than it is a five-year-old. He’s got work cut out for him. 

 

When he wakes in the morning, Stevie is standing about him. He has a thumb in his mouth and a frown on his face. 

 

_ Great,  _ Sam thinks,  _ he’s unhappy. I hope he won’t be grumpy all day.  _

 

“Hey, Big Guy. What’s up? Did you just wake up?” He gets a nod. “Well, are you hungry. I know how to make eggs?” 

 

Stevie just frowns harder. Sam sighs and sits up. 

 

“What’s wrong, Stevie?” 

 

“When will Bucky be back?” 

 

“He’ll be back soon, kiddo. Back before you know it. Promise.”  

 

“Okay,” Stevie says softly. 

 

Once breakfast is out of the way, Sam thinks it a good idea to spend time with the others. He takes Stevie to the common room, and as expected, all, well almost all, of the Avengers are there. 

 

Clint is the first one to look up upon their arrival. 

 

“Sup, man,” Clint says. “And little man.” 

 

“I don’t know. I was thinking that maybe we could play Hide-and-Go-Seek or something?” Sam says. “I mean, we could play it in here. This room is big enough. Plenty of places to hide?” 

 

Clint jumps up at the suggestion. “Omg! I’ll play! It’s not fun with two people and I love hide-and-seek” 

 

_ Of course, you would.  _ Sam thinks. 

 

“Hey, Nat?” Sam asks. “You in?” 

 

Natasha glances up from her book. She raises an eyebrow but agrees. Tony and Bruce agree as well. 

 

“Can I count first?” Stevie asks. 

 

“Of course, Little Man!” 

 

“...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10… Here I come! Ready or not!” 

 

Sam was found first. He chose to hide under the couch. Tony and Bruce followed. Tony hid behind the bar, while Bruce decided to hide near the pool table. In the end, Clint won. Natasha had decided to hide on top of the fridge, thinking that Stevie couldn’t even see the top of it. Stevie did find her though leaving him to try and find Clint. It took all of them before Clint came out his hiding place. He decided to hide in the vents. 

 

Since Sam was the first found, he counted next. A few hours later, Stevie was getting drowsy. He had yawned three times in the ten minutes they had stopped for lunch. 

 

“Hey Big Guy,” Sam spoke. “I think you need a nap. You look like you must pass right out.” 

 

Apparently, Stevie was a lot more tired than Sam thought because Stevie went down without a fight. 


	5. Bucky Returns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry :( This is short.

Stevie was watching the Disney movie Brave when Bucky returned home around nine o’clock on a Friday night. He had left two weeks ago on a mission. The mission which was only supposed to last a few days tops turned into two weeks of detective work. The Hydra agent that he had been tracking suddenly turned up dead in the middle of the night, which was the catalyst for him leaving. When SHIELD caught wind of the killer, they sent Bucky to track him down.

After two weeks of hotels, Bucky was more than happy to be back home. And he was also looking forward to seeing Stevie. He had no phone to call him, so Bucky hasn’t seen or heard from Stevie since his departure. 

When the elevator door dinged open, Bucky’s eyes immediately landed on the small blond curled up on the couch. The moment the blond saw him, Stevie became ecstatic. He jumped off the couch and bounded toward Bucky. 

“BUCKY!!” Stevie screamed in delight. 

Bucky slid to his knees and caught the five-year-old as he barreled into him. He held Stevie close. 

“Bucky! Bucky! Bucky!” Stevie chanted like it was a mantra. 

When it became apparent that Stevie wasn’t going to let go, Bucky just slid is arms lower and lifted Stevie up. Stevie wrapped his arms tighter around Bucky. 

“Did you have fun with Sam while I was gone?” Bucky asked Stevie. The little blond only nodded and shoved his face into the crook of Bucky’s neck. 

“Thanks, Sam,” Bucky said tiredly. “I owe you one.” 

“It’s no problem, man.” With that, Sam got up and left. Bucky, who still had Stevie in his arms, decided that it was late enough and they should go to bed. He started walking to his room and collapsed on his bed with little Stevie half asleep on top of his chest. 

“Goodnight, Stevie.” 

“Night, Bucky.” Was the sleepy reply.


	6. Ten is Coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is Chapter 6! Constructive criticisms always welcome, but be nice. :)  
> Hope you enjoy!

When Bucky awoke in the morning, Stevie was still asleep on to of his chest. He had his small thumb stuck in his mouth, sucking slightly.

Without waking Stevie, Bucky managed to slide Stevie off his chest and on the bed where Bucky gently covered Stevie with the blanket that they had slept on to of last night.

Bucky slipped from the bedroom and into the kitchen where he could make Stevie some breakfast. He was thinking homemade pancakes with bananas. Steve always liked bananas even if they didn’t taste the same in this century.

Bucky was just putting some pancakes and a spoonful of cut up bananas on a plate when Stevie walked out the bedroom. His hair was rumpled and his eyes a little droopy. He lit up when he saw Bucky though.

“Bucky!” he screamed.

“Stevie!” he yelled back although not nearly as loud. “I have some pancakes and bananas for you.”

Stevie made fast work of getting into the kitchen and removing the plate from Bucky’s hands. He went to the kitchen table and sat down. He eagerly dug into his food. He went for a piece of pancake first. He made a noise of delight when he ate it. Then he when for a piece of banana. He stuck it into his mouth only to, a few seconds later, spit it out with a noise of disgust.

“YUCK!” he yelled. He stared angrily at the bananas.

“I know, Stevie. I get it. They don’t taste the same at all.”

“Ya!”

“Sorry, Stevie. They don’t have them like they used to.”

Stevie continued to pout.

\---

It was five hours later, Stevie and Bucky were comfortable on the couch watching Tangled when Tony Stark and Bruce Banner walked out the elevator.

“Barnes,” Tony said. “Get over here.”

“Tony, be nice.” Banner said quietly.

Stevie sat undisturbed. He didn’t even notice when Bucky stood up.

The trio walked into the kitchen.

“What do you want?” Bucky asked not unkindly.

“Geez, Barnes-”

“We found a way to get Steve back to himself.” Banner cut in smoothly.

“What? How?”

“Well, we won’t bore you with the science mumbo-jumbo, but basically, we reverse found a growth serum. We can’t administer it all at once, but we can do it in sections. We can have Steve back in a few months.” Tony said.

“Why can’t you give it to him all at once?” Bucky asked.

“If we give it to him all at once, it could run the risk of killing him. He’s too small.”

Bucky thought for a moment. “Okay, what do you mean in sections?”

“We give him a little now, he’ll age to a certain age. Then a few weeks later, we give him the same amount. It’s basically a repeating cycle until we get him back to his original age.”

“Will it hurt him?”

“It shouldn’t, no.”

“When can we do this?”

\---

The next morning, Bucky and Stevie rode the elevator to Banner’s lab. Once they got off the elevator, Bucky’s eyes zoned in on the giant metal tube. It looked almost like a coffin.

“What’s that?”

“That, my dear robocop, is how we administer the growth serum.”

Bucky didn’t like how it looked.

“It’s safe; I assure you.” Banner said.

Bucky led Stevie to the tube. It opened and inside was a chair. He set Stevie down in it.

“Can you be a brave boy and sit here for a few minutes for me?”

“Yes,” Stevie said.

Bucky walked back toward Tony and Bruce. They were behind a control panel. The doors to the machine closed and it glowed brightly for a few minutes before it stopped.

The doors opened and a ten-year-old Steve Rogers sat in the chair looking between the three of the curiously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were curious, I'm also in the middle of writing another Stucky fanfic. It's basically a modern Winter Soldier where WW2 takes place in the 2000's. Steve has a special gift even before getting the super soldier serum. Bucky becomes the Winter Solider, yadda yadda yadda. I hope it will be up soon. 
> 
> I'm gonna try to have the next chapter of this up soon, but I lead a very interesting life, so it might be like next month or something, but, I'll try.
> 
> **NOTE, May 30th, 2017: Hi Readers. I'm not orphaning this fic, but it probably will not be updated for a long while. I started another fic that I'm currently more invested in. Sorry. I will update, but not soon. Sorry!!**


	7. IMPORTANT NOTICE, PLEASE READ!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTICE, PLEASE READ! (Old fic for a new fic!)

Hello Everyone!

This is just a notice but I thought I should explain my reasonings. 

I am very dissatisfied with this fic. In my opinion, this is the worst thing I have ever written. Becuase of this, I have decided to take it down. 

But don't fret! I will be reposting this fic but a new and edited version with more content and, to put plainly, better writing. I'm not sure how long it will take before I start posting the newer version as I have my other fic, The Second Set of Rules, that I am currently working on. 

I would also like to say thank you to everyone who commented and/or gave kudos. It means a lot to receive all this love for this fic when I feel it doesn't deserve it. 

Thank you, everyone, for all the support!  
~Mr.Goodbar

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, if there are any Captain America fanfic writers who are searching for a beta, go check out [Cap Beta Finders](https://capbetafinders.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://mrgoodbar11213.tumblr.com)


End file.
